Demon of the Skies
by wisegirl502
Summary: Jason Banks became a mercenary for Ustio when he dropped out of the Belkan Air Force because of the Rald Party's growing power. When Belka started taking over all the surrounding lands, it was Jason and his wingmen that stopped them and changed the tide of battle. Until ten years later, no one knew it was him. Now he's choosing to tell his niece and nephew. This is his story.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter Quote:  
"Man's enemies are not demons, but beings like himself."  
~Lao Tzu**

* * *

Chapter 1: Prologue

**Jason**

_**August 1, 2001…**_

_I poured three glasses of Sunny D, one for myself and one for my niece and nephew. I put the juice back in the fridge and somehow managed to carry all three drinks without spilling any orange juice on me or the floor. I was quite proud of myself for that. When I entered the living room, Elizabeth Banks, my fifteen year old niece, relieved me of the two for her and her brother Albert, although he preferred to go by his middle name Genette. He was seventeen._

_"Thank you, Elizabeth," I replied, plopping down on the couch next to her. A little bit of orange juice flew out of my glass and onto my jeans. So much for my no-spilling streak…_

_"Uncle Jason?" Elizabeth asked hesitantly._

_"Yeah?"_

_"I know we've heard the stories a hundred times or more but what was it like flying with the aces of the Belkan Air Force?"_

_I studied my niece and nephew carefully. I realized that I saw myself more in Elizabeth than in Genette; that wasn't always a good thing. I'm a full-blooded Belkan, but when I was one, my parents moved me and my sister (Elizabeth and Genette's mother) to Ustio because of the Rald Party; I remained there until I was eighteen. I went back to Belka for college, to train for the Air Force but when I saw the danger posed by the Rald Party, I dropped out of the Air Force. I didn't know what to do at first, because I still wanted to fly. The sky is like another home to me. I didn't want to fight for Sapin because I couldn't speak a lick of their language. I didn't want to fight for Osea because I felt like they had enough fighters. Therefore, I went back to Ustio but joined as a mercenary. I always felt more Belkan than Ustian._

_What I was talking about before though, about seeing more of me in Elizabeth than Genette not always being a good thing, I mean that Elizabeth acted more Belkan than Osean (my sister moved to Osea after she married). Being a Belkan, you are taught to show no emotion, because when you show no emotion, people can't read you, and when people can't read you, they don't know what your next move is; when people don't know what your next move is, you have the advantage in the situation no matter what it is. Belkans are taught to have pride for their country, something I saw in all of my side of the family. Belkans are taught to analyze every situation and to have a plan for any situation that might arise. That trait was something very prominently showed in my niece. She always had a plan, and if she didn't, she made one up on the spot, acting as if the plan had always been there. I didn't mind some of the traits, it was the emotion one that somewhat bothered me. Belkans usually showed absolutely no emotion, no matter who they were with. Elizabeth openly displayed her love for her family, of course, but when something was bothering or upsetting her, she hid it well… very, very well. It frightened me. She even looked Belkan with her blonde hair, but her hazel eyes were the Osean part of her, something she and her brother had inherited from their father. I was glad that she has some Osean genes in her._

_Genette, on the other hand, was more Osean. He almost always openly showed what he was feeling, whether he was upset or angry. He tended to wing it most of the time rather than creating plans. Of course he held pride for his country. Both he and his sister loved Osea. They thought it was the best country in the world, and living in three different ones, I have to admit Osea is the best so far._

_"Uncle Jason? Why are you staring at us? It's creeping me out," Elizabeth said bluntly as she pushed a piece of golden hair, the same color as mine, out of her face._

_I laughed. "Sorry; it's just you remind me a lot of myself, Elizabeth. You have no idea. The Belkan aces were the devils of the sky."_

_"But there was one guy that could always defeat them no matter who they were," Genette interjected._

_"Who's that?" I asked, knowing full well what they were going to say. I just wanted to annoy them._

_"The Demon Lord!" They exclaimed simultaneously._

_"Oh, right. Him," I said casually._

_"You sound jealous, Uncle Jason," Genette joked._

_"Why would I be jealous of him?" I prodded._

_"Oh, it's not like he's one of the greatest fighter pilots of all time. Did you ever fly with him?!"_

_I stared at them again. I hated keeping it from them, especially when they were so intrigued by the guy that they had no inkling of the fact that he was_me_. My identity as the Demon Lord, for my personal safety (and by order of the Ustian government), had been kept confidential, but I couldn't keep it from anyone else any longer. I wanted them to know, so I decided to tell them; however, I was going to let them figure it out._

_"You guys want to know a secret?" I queried. They both nodded eagerly. "Okay, but what I'm telling you is confidential. You must tell absolutely no one, not even your parents."_

_They both swore on their lives they wouldn't breathe a word. I decided it was safe to tell them._

_"I flew with him on every mission," I said. Elizabeth's mouth fell open while Genette ran a hand through his cropped, light brown hair._

_"But that's impossible," Elizabeth finally said. "He had two wingmen but neither was there with him the whole time."_

_"And you have actually flown planes so you couldn't be his RIO. Are you lying to us?" Genette looked at me suspiciously, narrowing his eyes. I shook my head. I looked back at his sister; I could almost see the gears turning behind her glittering hazel eyes that met my blue ones._

_"He's not lying to us Genette. He's telling the truth," she said, staring at me wide-eyed._

_"What are you talking about?" He prodded._

_"He _did _fly with the Demon Lord on every mission… because he is the Demon Lord."__  
_

* * *

**December 31, 2005…**

I watched as Genette and Elizabeth wrestled on the floor. He still could get the upper hand over her but she was stronger than she had been before; she was smart, she was strategic, and sometimes that helped her win the fight with her brother.

"All right you two, enough wrestling or you're going to break something," I said. Genette stood up, helping his sister stand in the process.

"Hey, what time is it?" Elizabeth suddenly asked.

"Almost noon, why?"

"Genette! The documentary!" she exclaimed. The expression on her face mirrored that of her brother's almost identically before they leapt into sitting position on the couch, eyes glued to the TV.

"What's so important about this documentary?" I inquired, sitting down beside Elizabeth.

"It's about _you_. This journalist found people that flew with you in the Belkan war, both enemies and allies… mostly enemies but still."

"What's the journalist's name?"

"Brett Thompson. He came and spoke to us at OCU a year ago. It was about how to create good credentials to help you gather information. Guy's a bloody genius," Genette answered. OCU stood for Osea Continent University. It was one of the toughest schools to get into on the continent. UOB (_you-ob_), the University of Belka, was the hardest. Elizabeth attended OAFA, the Osean Air Force Academy, which was also no easy task to get into; although apparently, they were thinking of transferring her to Heierlark which she was excited about. Heierlark was the base that all cadets wanted to get onto because it meant you were special, that you weren't the ordinary fighter pilot. I still found it interesting that the two had practically switched career choices. It used to be that Elizabeth wanted to be a journalist and Genette wanted to be a pilot (although that might've been because his friend Alvin Davenport was an Air Force fanatic and the two could talk about it for hours). Go figure.

I nodded my head and watched the beginning of the documentary. I had never told my niece and nephew the stories of my time as the Demon Lord. I always told them I would tell them at a later date, that it wasn't the right time. But now, seeing the documentary created specifically to focus on _my_ career, I decided it was the right time. However, I also chose to watch the beginning of the documentary just to see how it was going to start out, just to see what approach the journalist was going to take on it.

The three of us regarded the show with an unbreakable interest as it started. It began with a black screen with the white words "25 NOV., 2005 NEAR A DISPUTED BORDER" as a voice that I recognized immediately said, "Oh, him? Yeah, I know him."

The screen changed, showing a man in a military uniform, sitting in a chair, semi-bracing himself on an AK-47 since he leaned forward. The place he was in was rundown, almost seemingly forgotten and near to the point of falling down, but it somehow still stood. Only the bottom half of his face showed, but I still knew him. I knew that face from anywhere.

It was Pixy. My "buddy".

"It's going to take a while…" my old buddy continued. "It happened years ago." He shook his head a little as he said it. He looked down thoughtfully at the floor, allowing for a brief glimpse of the rest of his face before he looked up again and said, "Did you know… there are three kinds of aces? Those who seek strength. Those who live for pride. And those who can read the tide of battle." As he named each one of, he held up a finger. "Those are three. And him? He was a true ace. I've never met anyone like him ever since…"

The voice changed to that of the journalist while showing pictures of fighter jets in the air, specifically of me and Pixy flying; I distinguished the red signature red solo wing on our planes (I'll get to that later). I also couldn't help but notice the reporter sounded like Genette. "He was a fighter pilot they called "Solo Wing Pixy. He was a colleague of the man I seek. Ten years ago, there was a war that engulfed the world. The Belkan War. And in that war was a pilot who trailed across the sky, and disappeared from history. He was a lone mercenary who inspired both fear and admiration. He is the man I seek. And so… with words of 'Solo Wing,' the curtain rises."

The screen flashed back to Pixy who was still in the same position; I now observed he was chewing gum. I wasn't sure why but I did. It was his turn to talk again. "It was a cold and snowy day…"

The video faded to black and switched to a commercial. I had TiVo, so I paused the entire channel. I looked over at Elizabeth and Genette; they were staring at me.

"I think…" I said, "that I told you of my time as the Demon Lord."

* * *

**So that was the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed. This won't be updated for a while just because I have to finish it's sequel story (editing it) and that's a really really long chapter so it'll take a while. Plus I have a ton of other stories I'm writing. Anywho, please review!**


	2. Glacial Skies

**Hope you like the new chapter :) Sorry it took so long to update!**

**Chapter Quote:  
**"**When the war of the giants is over the wars of the pygmies will begin."  
****~Winston Churchill**

* * *

Chapter 2: Glacial Skies

**April 2, 1995. Valais Air Base, Ustio…**

**Cipher**

I jogged to catch up to Pixy who was strutting his way over to the main building of Valais Air Force Base. The air was biting cold. It had to be below freezing out but here in the mountains, this was normal weather. Clouds in the distance threatened snow, making me wish that it didn't. I was kind of sick of the snow, and you would be too if you lived here and all it ever did _was_ snow with maybe one or two sunny days a month. It sucked to say the least. I wasn't sure how my wingman could just swagger on through the cold with his head held high. I had my head hung down low with my shoulders hunched to try and block the wind. It didn't work well, but it was better than nothing.

When I entered the building, the warm air hit my face and I gladly welcomed it. Unlike Pixy, I wasn't used to this weather. I might've been from Belka and the weather there was usually cold but dear god, my home country had nothing on the mountains this base was located in.

I guess, before I go any further, I should explain some things. I'm a mercenary for the Ustian Air Force. When I was younger, like one year old, my parents moved me and my older sister by five years, Lisa, to Ustio. When I was eighteen, I moved back to Belka to train in the Air Force; but when Rald took power, I high-tailed it out of there and went in search for a job as a fighter pilot. I didn't want to fight for Osea. They were a huge superpower country; they had plenty of soldiers. I didn't want to fight for Sapin because I couldn't understand a lick of Spanish except for "hola" and "cómo estás" and "puta." I chose to fight as a mercenary for Ustio since I had some relation to the country. Physically, I was six foot two. My hair was a darker blonde than some. In fact, my hair color was odd. My roots were a dark blonde but the tips were light blonde. Everyone thought I'd dyed my hair that way but no, it was all natural. My eyes were blue, but changed shades depending on my mood. Lighter when I was in a good mood, darker when I was grumpy or angry.

I managed to catch up to Pixy. His face wasn't even red from the cold whereas mine probably looked like a tomato. Speaking of Pixy, well, it's hard to describe him. Physical appearance, he has short brown hair, blue eyes (like most Belkans), and he was the same height as me. But other than his physical appearance, it's hard to describe him. He's quiet yet outspoken, he's reserved yet outgoing. It's impossible.

Anyway, we entered the briefing room. A few other pilots were there, chattering away about unimportant things. Pixy and I took two seats in the back. Being mercenaries, we weren't exactly well liked on base. Mercenaries in general weren't well liked in any military, at least by the soldiers, mainly because the soldiers thought the mercenaries fought for money and only money. I decided to prove them wrong. I hadn't exactly figured out how I was going to do that but hey, I was going to.

The briefer came in. His name was Vince O'Reilly. He was a short, stocky guy with a good sense of humor outside of the briefing room. He walked up to the podium and started the TV. The lights dimmed, so the red screen committed murder on my eyes. I don't know why, but red lights in a dark setting never set well with my eyes. Vince cleared his throat before beginning the briefing. "Listen up! We have a situation on our hands. A major squadron of Belkan bombers has crossed our border and is making its way here to Valais Air Base. Apparently, they intend to attack our base in an initiative to gain hegemony over the entire Republic of Ustio. Valais Air Base is our country's last line of defense. If our base falls, no one will be left to stop Belka from taking over Ustio. Your mission is to destroy the squad of bombers and defend our base. Belka's invasion must end here."

Operation: Crossbow

Date: 02/04/1995

Time: 1300 Hrs.

Location: Valais Air Base

The lights flickered back on; I squinted to prevent my eyes from burning. Pixy and I got up, trailing the other pilots.

"Hey, Cipher, what plane are you taking?" Pixy asked coolly, staring straight ahead.

"Not exactly sure yet. I'm going to see what they have first," I replied. "You?"

"F-15C Eagle. It has my specialized paint job." He winked at me. "I know it bugs you that our planes will be two different colors."

Unfortunately, Pixy knew about some of my strange obsessive compulsive disorders. Having different planes and/or different colored planes happened to be one of them. I liked order. "Shut up," I snapped lightly.

"I'll make you a deal. You prove yourself today, and you can use my specialized paint too. Hell, we'll let the enemy think I have a twin. Deal?" Pixy queried.

"Game on, bro." We walked into the hangar where my eyes were immediately greeted by Pixy's plane; I had to admit, it looked pretty badass with one wing painted red. I told myself by the end of the day, Pixy and I would have the same colored plane. The F-15C was a great plane; it had good air and ground capabilities. Luckily for me, there happened to be another F-15C. I zeroed in on it and claimed it mine for that mission. I saw Pixy chuckling to himself out of the corner of my eye but I ignored him. My mind needed to focus on the mission at hand. Belka would not be taking over Ustio. I hopped into my plane after choosing the XMAAs as my special weapon and pulled out onto the runway. Pixy had left first since he'd been the first one ready. I then realized that even though he and I were in the same squadron, I had no idea who was Galm One and who was Galm Two. Since Pixy had more experience than I, he would probably be Galm One. I had no problem with that. He was a great fighter.

With that last thought in my head, I shot down the runway and into the air. I caught to Pixy rather easily.

"Whoa there, Cipher. Go any faster and you'll rip your plane apart," he joked.

"Eh, live life dangerously once in a while. Keeps life interesting," I countered.

"Tell me that when you're sitting alone in the mountains waiting for a rescue team to come extract you."

"Yeah but no good stories ever come from someone being careful now do they?"

"Who would you tell them to? We're mercenaries. We're all on our own right now."

I fell silent. No one on base knew that I had family: my older sister Lisa, who was married and had two kids, Albert and Elizabeth. Albert had turned eleven in March, Elizabeth turned nine in a couple of months. Albert had inherited his father's brown hair whereas Elizabeth had inherited her mother's blonde. I missed them dearly, but being in the position I was, I couldn't contact them. Being a deserter from the Belkan military, my motherland hated me and if they ever found out that I was fighting for their enemy and captured me, they'd most likely imprison me or try me for treason. If they found me out but didn't capture me, they'd go for my family. I couldn't call my family for their safety. I'm sure my sister was utterly pissed at me, but I promised myself that after this war was over, I'd go explain everything to her. I'm sure she would understand.

"You okay there, Cipher? Not getting cold feet are you?" Pixy interjected into my thoughts.

"Nah, just concentrating. All right, let's do this." We'd been flying at a high altitude. We plunged down towards the mountains at a high rate of speed. It was enthralling. The adrenaline you got from flying that fast is indescribable.

"It's starting to come down," Pixy commented on the light snow starting to fall. The snow was a daily thing here in the mountains. By the looks of the scattered clouds, there wouldn't be much. I wasn't complaining. I'd seen enough snow to last a lifetime.

"This is Base Command. Guess all you boys managed to get up. Galm One, Galm Two, maintain present course."

Pixy, who had been in front of me, braked hard enough so that I ended up in front. He said, "This is Galm Two. Roger that."

Since when did I become Galm One? Not that I minded but still, it would've been a good thing to know before being thrust into the middle of a battle.

"Bearing three-one-five, Belkan bombers approaching," Base Command informed.

"Lovely…" I grumbled. At least they were bombers. Those things were massive and easy to shoot down. I just hoped they didn't have too many fighters with them.

"Nobody wants to bail out into a mountain of ice. We're counting on you flight leader," Pixy told me.

"First, you can count on me. Second, when was I going to be informed I was flight leader?" I inquired, making my plane do a three-sixty spin for the hell of it.

"Better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Plus Base Command thought I was a little too brash in making decisions. Figured you were better."

I didn't know how Base Command had deducted that, but I did question them. I wasn't near as experienced as Pixy even if he and I were in the same age range. Pixy seemed so calm and collected. It was hard to believe he could be brash in decision making.

"All units, prepare to intercept," Base Command ordered.

"You'd better have our pay ready and waiting," Pixy said.

"That's only if we both make it through this alive," one of our comrades muttered.

"Come on, you got Pixy and I on your side. We'll be getting paid today. Trust me," I declared.

"Got a lot of faith for a newbie, Cipher. Sure you can live up to it?" Pixy questioned, a slight challenge in his voice.

"Watch me," I retorted as I flew dangerously close to the snow-capped mountains..

To Base Command, Pixy said, "Be ready to pay up. We'll be back before you know it."

"Oh, so I say something like that and I get questioned, but you say it and it's all fine?" I teased.

"I'm older," Pixy answered.

"I'm captain."

"I survived getting shot down."

"I've never been shot down."

"Okay you two, knock it off," Base Command interrupted, sounding somewhat amused. "Galm Team, shoot down all enemy bombers. Don't let them get to our base. Galm Two, follow all orders from Galm One. Free engagement is prohibited during this operation."

"Roger. Awaiting your orders, Cipher. You're Galm One now."

"Like I didn't know that already," I chuckled. "Time to get down to business."

"I've heard stories about you Cipher."

"Have you? What would they be?" I queried, focusing my attention on an enemy fighter in the distance.

"People say you never let your prey get away. They say you've got what it takes to win," he explained.

"What do you think?" I prodded, finally getting behind the enemy fighter I'd been trailing. Pixy was still far behind me so he probably didn't see me chasing the enemy, which was good in my opinion. I could start out well and finish well. I was going to win this deal I'd made.

He paused for a few seconds before responding. "That pride's gonna get you killed, you know."

"So hypocritical," I laughed. "You're Belkan too, Pixy. You have a hell of a lot of pride too."

"Unfortunately, you have a point Cipher. Okay, let's make quick work of these suckers and treat ourselves to a little hot whiskey, shall we?"

"Sounds divine. I could use a little whiskey. This weather's driving me up the wall. Snow here and snow there. God."

"Quit your whining," Pixy told me jokingly.

"I'm not whining, I'm just pointing out a fact."

"Really? Sounded like you were whining."

"Sounds like you need your hearing checked. Now get a move on. I've already shot down a bandit." It was true; right as I said that, I fired a missile at the enemy fighter and hit it in its engine. The plane went down in a great ball of fire and smoke.

"Head back to base if your plane has any problems," he ordered. "No one will find us if we crash out here."

"Thank you, Mr. Cheerful. Real good encouragement there," I commented.

"All those too scared to fly should go back to base and wait patiently with their tails between their legs," Pixy added.

"They're not dogs, Pix."

"I don't know, get Hammerhead drunk enough and he starts howling like one."

"I do not!" A guy protested. The statement was followed by a few murmurs of "yeah you do." Hammerhead shut up, grumbling to himself. He was this badass bald guy who I'd somehow gotten on his good side. Hammerhead was rough, tough, but loyal. You could always count on him.

I turned my plane so that I faced the entire incoming enemy formation. Two bombers were coming straight for me. Switching to special weapons, I put my sights on my two new targets. At fifteen thousand feet away, I locked on. I fired. Two XMAAs shot away and towards the two enemy bombers. Within seconds, the two enemies were taken care of.

"Hurry up and shoot down the enemy if you want to get back to base," Pixy said.

"You're one to talk slow poke. I've shot down three," I told him.

"Don't get too greedy now. Just stay focused."

"I am focused. You need to catch up."

"That a challenge?"

"An order."

"Roger that." Pixy slammed on his accelerator and caught up to me within moments. I looked over into his cockpit. I saluted him; he returned it.

"One enemy bomber down. Continue with operation," the Control Tower notified.

"It's two bombers down," I corrected.

"Damn, Galm One is on fire today," a guy noted. Pixy flew above me at high speed. An enemy plane was hot on his tail. I jerked my plane to the left and got behind them. They were way ahead of me but not for long. Within seconds, I was within shooting distance. I waited for the right time to fire the missile. I didn't want to waste any. Pixy headed towards the remaining incoming enemy fleet. He flew straight and fast, but I had no problems keeping up and neither did the enemy. However, the enemy plane had been so fixated on shooting Pixy down he forgot to check his six. Within seconds, I was within gun range. Not wanting to alert the guy to my presence, I avoided locking onto him; instead, I fired my guns. His plane was destroyed easily.

"Nice shooting, Cipher," Pixy praised, sounding mildly impressed.

"Thanks. Take care of those bombers. I'll take care of the fighters," I said.

"That bomber looks ancient," one of our guys observed. I looked closely at a bomber I flew past. I had to agree with the guy. I wasn't sure why the bomber looked ancient, it just did. It amazed me the thing was able to fly because its condition seemed horrific.

"Watch out. The enemy's tracking you on radar," Pixy warned. I whirled my head around to my six. Two enemy fighters were hot on my tail. They were far enough away that they couldn't shoot me down just yet (emphasis on 'yet'). A cloud nearby caught my eye. Grinning to myself, I flew towards it. Once it was above me, I made my plane disappear into it. I slammed on my brakes, allowing for the enemy fighters to catch up to me quickly. Their confusion was evident since I'd pretty much disappeared on them. I flew back down, just a little below them. I got a missile lock on the first guy and shot him down with no trouble. His friend high-tailed it away from me. I let him go. I had to concentrate on the bombers.

"Those escort planes are well trained. They're not taking the bait," a comrade said.

"They're Belkans. They're some of the best pilots in the world. They didn't get there by falling for stupid tricks," Pixy retorted.

"This is Otto Five. IFF is out of commission. Unable to carry out duty. Withdrawing from operation airspace," a Belkan announced. Why I was receiving communications from the enemy didn't make sense, but it was interesting enough. Pixy got behind the bomber that had claimed itself out of commission. He fired missiles at it and hit it. I probably couldn't have shot down a neutralized plane. War had not turned me into that much of a ruthless person. Of course, Pixy had seen more than me so I kind of understood him doing what he did.

"One of the bombers has left the battlefront. He must've chickened out," an Ustian fighter mused.

"Why would he leave after getting this far?" Pixy countered.

"Well, he didn't get far this way either seeing as how you shot him down," I pointed out.

"Aren't you sassy today," he chuckled.

"No regrets."

"Low-life mercenaries! Only you would be so cowardly to shoot down a plane out of commission!" A Belkan yelled. I cringed slightly at how loud the guy was. I hated loud noises.

"Looks like Galm Two is gonna steal the show again," an Ustian pilot remarked humorously.

"Come on Pixy! Leave a few for us, will ya?" Another guy joked.

"Cipher, leave a few for us, will ya?" Pixy chimed in.

"That's you doing all that destruction, Cipher? Damn," the first guy laughed.

"Yippy ki yay, moth-" I began.

"Not with the _Die Hard_ lines again, Cipher," Pixy groaned.

"Gotta admit, the guy's badass," I said. I could see my wingman rolling his eyes at me in my head.

I headed towards some more bombers. They tended to stay in groups of two or four. I didn't understand why. One thing the bombers did have for their defense besides the escort fighters were some annoying guns mounted on their wings. The guns were deadly accurate. I managed not to get hit as I got in close to one to shoot it down. I was about to go for the next one when an Ustian pilot requested for help. He was being trailed by an enemy fighter relentlessly.

"I don't have time for that. It's every man for himself," Pixy stated.

"Don't worry, I'm coming Viper," I assured, turning my plane around. I found my compatriot easily. He was flying low, right near the mountains. The enemy plane fired their guns insistently, trying to hit my fellow fighter pilot. I came in from above and shot my guns at the enemy plane. His plane was destroyed within thirty seconds.

"Damn Cipher, you're giving Pixy a run for his money flying like that," Viper said drolly. "Thanks for getting that bastard off my back."

"Anytime. Now get going and shoot down those bombers. I want to go home and eat," I said.

"You're a bottomless pit," Pixy said.

"A bottomless pit with a great body," I corrected him. Pixy let out a short bark of laughter but said nothing else.

"There's only one left," Pixy notified.

More fighter pilots appeared out of nowhere, about three of them. Glancing at my radar, I realized that besides the fighters, only one bomber remained, confirming what Pixy had said. That sucker I silently deemed mine. My allies besides Pixy, which consisted of about four fighters, helped out in shooting down the remaining fighter pilots. I let them handle the enemy fighters and raced Pixy to the last bomber. He must've forgotten I had the XMAA as my special weapon because he kept racing me. That bomber was mine. I fired one of my special weapons at it. It was a bulls-eye. I hollered with joy at our quick victory. The others joined in as we got back in formation with me and Pixy in the lead.

"Base Command to Galm Team. The enemy attack unit has been successfully intercepted. I'd like to see how those Belkan cowards report back to their superiors."

"I would love to see that," I admitted. "Can you imagine them explaining to their superiors that they got beaten by a force of four Ustian fighter pilots and two mercenaries?"

"Cipher, I got a feeling you and me are gonna get along just fine," Pixy remarked, pausing for a few seconds before adding, "Buddy."

"Suck if we didn't seeing as how I'm your captain and all… Buddy," I replied. "So about that deal we made earlier…"

"With that crazy flying you were doing? I think you might've impressed me once or twice out there. Yeah, you get the paint job too," Pixy said. "Also, the other reason I'm giving it to you is because I know I'll never hear the end of your complaining if we don't."

"See? You know me already. Let's get back to base and get some of that whiskey."

The six of us hit our accelerators, heading back to base. The briefer went on to do the debriefing as we flew back to save time. "Thanks to you, Belka's attack on Valais Air Base has failed. Your efforts will not go unrewarded. Your actions may well decide who wins the Belkan War. I, for one, will be counting on you."

When we landed, the six of us who had flown in battle walked to the mess hall where we celebrated with about five glasses of whiskey each. One of the guys couldn't hold all that whiskey at all and got completely smashed. I didn't think we were drinking that much but maybe I just have a high tolerance; it takes a lot for me to get drunk. At ten, we went to our rooms; I took a shower and fell asleep, attempting to think of what surprises this war would bring me.

* * *

**Present day…**

"That. Sounded. _Awesome_!" Genette exclaimed. He and Elizabeth were sitting cross-legged on the couch, looking at me with intrigued eyes.

"Is that all?" Elizabeth prodded. "Come on, there has to be more than that."

I laughed at her eagerness. "Patience. The first mission wasn't all that exciting. It's what happens later on that it gets better. You won't see it coming. Let's finish watching Pixy's interview."

I hit play on the remote and Pixy's voice came back on. He told the story I had just recounted and our descriptions were almost exactly alike. It was weird actually. Once he declared the mission was over, it showed our planes landing, all the way back from 1995. I think my mouth fell open because I didn't know someone had filmed us landing. As the video played, Pixy said, "It all started on that snowy day. My first impression was… He had potential."

"Potential? _Potential_? That's all he thought on his first impression of you? Harsh judger," Elizabeth muttered.

"Pixy was a great pilot too, Elizabeth," I said with a smile.

"Were there any hot woman on base?" Genette queried. Elizabeth rolled her eyes at her brother.

"A few, but there was this one girl named Janie Biggs. She was beautiful. I'll get to her later though. Okay, let's continue on with this story."

* * *

**So first chapter, not too exciting. It's so much harder coming up with original dialogue with only two players, let me tell you. The story will get better as we go along, I promise :) plus there will be a few cameo appearances by some characters from "The Razgriz Aces" which I think you'll enjoy. Anyway, please review! :)**


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